Open Educational Resources (OER) are teaching resources created to be freely available to users anywhere. They can include textbooks (webbooks), videos, podcasts, multimedia files, images, software, assessment tools, entire courses and more. Traditional course resources come with restrictive copyright laws, OER creators retain their copyright but add Creative Commons licenses that allow free reuse without permission. What makes OERs appealing is they adhere to David Wiley's five R's. They can be retained (kept forever), reused (used for your own purposes), revised (adapted or modified), remixed (combined with other OER's), and redistributed (shared with others).
Learn more about what OER is and how you and your students can access these free resources.
A webbook is exactly what it sounds like: a book on the web. Webbooks are similar to websites in that they are accessed your browser; all you need is an internet connection. Traditional book formats like print books and eBooks can be hosted on the web too, but they eventually wind up in an export format – your standard EPUB and PDF files.
By comparison, a webbook stays on the web. It can be the exact content from your eBook or your print book, but hosted online with Pressbooks and available for free to readers.
Webbooks can also take textbooks and eBooks to the next level with their ability to have built-in interactive activities. Activities such as:
Internet access is all that is needed. Webbooks can be read online or downloaded into a variety of different formats. This gives students more freedom in what technology they use.
Canadian Repositories
US Repositories
In the context of open webbooks, universal design for learning or UDL means removing potential student access barriers by designing content for all learning styles. Accessibility allows all users to access online content, including those with visual, auditory, physical, speech, cognitive and neurological disabilities. It’s essential to creating a truly open textbook – one that’s free and accessible for all students.
BCcampus offers an Accessibility Toolkit with a specific section on best practices. This can be read online or downloaded in different formats.
Feel free to contact us at Library.Coordinators@nbcc.ca to get more information about OER at NBCC.
You can use OER in place of a textbook or other required or supplemental readings. Many OER have interactive content and activities.
Benefits for faculty
Benefits for students
The flexibility of OER gives you several options for using them in class:
Yes, Pressbooks supports integration with many plugins (Hypothesis, MathJax, TablePress) as well as the creation of interactive content through H5P.
You don't have to customize or modify any OER. Use some or all of the content as you see fit. You can use it just the way it is, it is up to you how much you need or want to revise for your class. Use them for a term, then determine if you need to modify them. There are tools and other staff to help you.
Learn more about the types of licenses and copyright specifications related to OER.
All OER are free to access, but not all free resources are OER.
What makes OER different is its open licenses. An open license, or open-copyright license, grants permission to access, retain, reuse, redistribute, and build on (remix and revise) a work with few or no restrictions.
The terms of open or Creative Commons licenses vary; however, all Creative Commons licenses contain an attribution (BY) clause. This means you must include a statement that gives credit to, or attributes, the creator of the work from which you have borrowed, whether it’s text, image, video or another item. If you have made a change, indicate that in your attribution statement.
Some "free" content is only free for the user to access and download for personal use, but not modify or redistribute without express permission. So-called free content with these restrictions is published under "closed," copyrighted, and all rights reserved licenses.
The most common way to release materials as OER is through Creative Commons copyright licenses, which are standardized, free-to-use open licenses. Read all acount Creative Commons licenses.
NOTE: Not all OERs use the same licensing restriction. It is important to check the permissions of the OER before using them to ensure compliance with the terms.
Attribution (BY)
Allow to copy, adapt, modify and share the work as long as the original creators are credited for any purposes.
Attribution (BY) - Share Alike (SA)
Allow to copy, adapt, modify and share the work as long as the original creators are credited for any purposes.
Any new creation must be licensed under the same terms as the original work.
Attribution (BY) - Non-commercial (NC)
Allow to copy, adapt, modify and share the work as long as the original creators are credited for any purposes.
This is for non-commercial purposes only.
Attribution (BY) - Non-commercial (NC) - Share Alike (SA)
Allow to copy, adapt, modify and share the work as long as the original creators are credited for any purposes.
All rights as Attribution (BY)-Share Alike (SA) license but for non-commercial purposes only.
Attribution (BY) - No Derives (ND)
Allow to copy, and share the work as long as the original creators are credited for any purposes.
Must keep the work unchanged and in whole for any purposes.
Attribution (BY) - Non-commercial (NC) - No Derives (ND)
Allow to copy, and share the work as long as the original creators are credited for any purposes.
For non-commercial use only
Must keep the work unchanged and in whole for any purposes.
In addition to using OER found online, you can modify or create your own resources.
Cloning an existing textbook into the AtlanticOER Pressbooks network can be done in minutes. Adapting or remixing it or creating a new webbook will take longer as it depends on the educator’s timeline. Creating a webbook takes time and energy, probably not something to take on while you have a full teaching load. See your Academic Chair for department options.
Pressbooks is an online platform built on WordPress publishing and blogging website. If you have used WordPress in the past, Pressbooks should feel familiar. Pressbooks enables authors to design and format any kind of book, webbooks, PDF documents, EPUB (usable in most eReaders), MOBI (for Kindle readers), and various editable files.
Check out the links below to learn how to adapt and create in Pressbooks:
Yes! Working with others to create a common webbook that you all use for your courses is one of the great benefits of the open access model. You can have an unlimited number of collaborators working on a common webbook using Pressbooks.
Did you know NBCC has a few programs that are using OER resources. Here are some examples:
Who: Engineering Dept
What: Created a new OER Technically Drawn
Why: We had a need for a simple, introductory resource for a course at the very beginning of the program. We wanted more than just a paper-based handout. Creating a Pressbook gave us a readable resource that students can access from their computers or phones, or even as a PDF that can be downloaded and printed. We integrated in auto-marking end of chapter quizzes and some interactive content as well. Student uptake and use was high.
Who: Early Childhood Education
What: Child Growth and Development Canadian Ed.
Why: Using the OER for child development has provided current information to ECE students. Though the theory is standard, having reliable statistics and Canadian content is invaluable for preparing learners for the sector.
Who: Practical Nurse
What: Fundamentals of Nursing Pharmacology, Canadian Ed.
Why: We chose this resource for its current Canadian content, easy access, including several download options, and the many built-in interactive activities. Each student will save up to $100
